The 2023 report cards are finally out for Texas public schools, and as expected, grades took a tumble virtually across the board.
Texas public districts and schools saw a sharp drop in their academic accountability ratings under a revamped rubric that made it harder for them to score top ratings in 2023, according to results released Thursday by the Texas Education Agency.
Nearly two-thirds of the A-through-F district ratings fell by at least one letter grade, while one-third of district ratings didn’t change. Those trends played out in the Greater Houston area, where 14 of the largest 20 districts dropped at least one letter grade and the remaining six held on to their rating.
To see results for each school and district, click here for the TEA’s ratings website.
The TEA planned to publish the scores in the fall of 2023, but the release was delayed due to a lawsuit filed by school districts that argued state officials violated the law in crafting the tougher standards. Scores from 2024 haven’t been released, either, due to a separate lawsuit filed by districts.
Accountability ratings are largely based on various measures tied to standardized test scores, including overall performance, rates of growth and comparisons to other districts and schools. Graduation rates and measures of readiness for life after high school also factor into ratings for districts and high schools.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the 2023 scores for Houston-area districts, including Houston, Katy, Aldine and Pasadena ISDs.
HISD trended down before takeover
Under Texas’ accountability system, each district and school grades a 0-to-100 rating, which is then converted into a letter grade that follows the traditional A-through-F scale. All of the Houston region’s 20 largest districts saw their numerical rating fall in 2023 compared to 2022.
But HISD carded the sharpest decline of the group, falling from 88 to 72. The fall largely resulted from a large drop in reading and math growth relative to the rest of the region.
The 2023 scores, which are primarily based on spring test results, marked the last accountability rating before Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath replaced HISD’s school board and appointed Superintendent Mike Miles to run the district. HISD’s accountability rating from 2023 did not contribute to the ouster of district leaders.
HISD posted significant gains in test scores and accountability ratings in Miles’ first year, district administrators said, though official ratings for 2024 haven’t been released.
Higher-income districts held steadiest
Critics of Texas’ accountability system often point to the fact that districts in wealthier neighborhoods rarely get low ratings, while it’s difficult for districts in lower-income parts of Texas to excel.
The updated grading system will do little to dispel that complaint.
In the Houston area, the five larger districts serving the fewest lower-income students — Conroe, Clear Creek, Katy, Pearland and Tomball ISDs — saw small drops in their ratings relative to the rest of the region.
Tomball scored the third-highest rating out of the state’s 100 largest districts, earning a rare A grade. Katy and Pearland lost their A grades from 2022, though they still scored 88 and 89 overall, respectively.
Aldine fell to the bottom
Among the 100 largest districts in Texas, none scored worse than Aldine ISD in 2023. The district carded a 63 rating, down from 77 the prior year.
Districts that serve high percentages of lower-income, emergent bilingual and at-risk students are much more likely to score lower ratings under Texas’ accountability system. But as the Houston Landing documented last year, Aldine has fallen behind districts serving similar types of students since the arrival of Superintendent LaTonya Goffney in 2018.
Aldine board members and many community members remain supportive of Goffney, a popular leader across the state and nation. The district made moderate progress on its standardized test scores in 2024, though it’s not yet clear whether the growth is enough for the district to shed its D grade.
Galena Park, Pasadena shined
The two eastern Harris County districts serving large numbers of lower-income Hispanic and emergent bilingual students topped many similar districts by earning B grades.
Galena Park ISD, home to roughly 21,000 students, lost its A grade but saw its overall score modestly slip from 91 to 85.
Pasadena ISD, which serves nearly 50,000 students, narrowly kept its B grade as its score fell from 86 to 81.
KIPP, IL Texas took a dive
For decades, many charter school advocates have pointed to above-average test scores as evidence that charters outperform traditional public schools.
But two of the Houston area’s largest charter operators — KIPP Texas Public School and International Leadership of Texas — posted sharp drops in accountability ratings that resulted in D grades. The two networks received scores of 69 and 68, respectively, in 2023 after both notching 86 ratings the prior year.
The tumble followed some of the state’s worst rates of growth on math and reading test scores, historically an area of strength for KIPP Texas in particular.
KIPP Texas runs 32 schools in the Houston area and 22 other campuses spread across the state. Greater Houston is home to 11 of International Leadership of Texas’ 26 schools.
Three of the state’s largest charter networks with a Houston footprint — YES Prep Public Schools, IDEA Public Schools and Texas College Preparatory Academies — each scored B ratings.
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